Article Authors:
Reuters
Steve Holland and Ideas Ali
Washington — US officials say the US will provide Ukraine with an additional $ 450 million in security assistance, including longer-range rocket systems. Stated. Thursday.
Moscow troops are advancing in the eastern part of Ukraine to occupy the industrial center known as Donbus. Ukraine fears that part of its army may be surrounded by a Russian pinch.
In a statement, the Pentagon said the package was worth up to $ 450 million, with four additional High Mobile Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), 18 coastal and river patrol boats, and a number. He said it would contain a thousand rounds of ammunition.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, President Joe Biden's administration has provided Ukraine with $ 6.1 billion in security assistance.
John Kirby, National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator, said Washington worked closely with Kieu to identify the types of weapons that could best meet the needs of each package. Said that.
"The reason we do this is to be able to stay relevant to what's happening on the battlefield," Kirby said in a White House briefing. Told to.
At the beginning of Thursday, Ukraine stated that it had received the first tranche of HIMARS. This is a powerful long-range weapons system that Kieu hopes to help turn the tide in months of combat.
The latest package was announced last week after Biden announced the injection of $ 1 billion in weapons for Ukraine, including anti-ship rocket systems, artillery rockets, howitzers and ammunition.
The war has entered a brutal phase of friction in recent weeks, with Russian troops concentrating overwhelming cannon firepower on Moscow's claimed Donbus on behalf of separatists. ..
Ukraine states that the HIMARS system is needed to better match the scope of the Russian rocket system, which states that it is widely used to defeat Ukraine's position in Donbus. ..
Washington said it had received from Kiev a guarantee that these long-range weapons would not be used to attack Russian territory, fearing widespread conflict.
US officials say HIMARS is important to the Ukrainian army, but a single weapon system alone cannot change the war.
Moscow warned that if the West supplied Ukraine with long-range missiles for use in high-precision mobile rocket systems, it would attack Ukraine's "not yet attacked" targets. (Report by Steve Holland and Idrees Ali, edited by Mark Porter, Deepa Babington, Daniel Wallis)
